Pat Rafter's Blueprint for Alex de Minaur's Australian Open Quarter-Final
Tennis great Pat Rafter is hesitant to dictate tactics to Alex de Minaur, but he firmly believes Australia's last remaining hope must increase his net presence to stand any chance of defeating Carlos Alcaraz at Melbourne Park. De Minaur enters Tuesday night's Australian Open quarter-final blockbuster with a daunting 0-5 record against the world number one, leaving many fans hopeful but realistic about his prospects.
Rafter's Analysis of de Minaur's Game Plan
Despite the challenging statistics, Rafter gives Australia's world number six a fighter's chance, provided de Minaur commits to a comprehensive and aggressive strategy. The blueprint, according to Rafter, must involve venturing forward at every opportunity against the game's premier baseline slugger. As the last of tennis's great serve and volleyers, Rafter has observed de Minaur closely, notably during the Laver Cup in San Francisco last September.
Courtside observations from that event revealed de Minaur's effectiveness at the net, where he won 15 of 20 points in victories over world number three Alexander Zverev and rising Czech star Jakub Mensik. This impressive 75 per cent success rate prompted Rafter to question why the Australian did not employ similar tactics in his fourth-round Open victory against Alexander Bublik.
"I thought he might have snuck in a bit more," Rafter remarked. "I didn't know if he was giving Bublik too much respect when he got him pushed out wide. He was trying to work out how he was going to sneak in. He is going to have to against Alcaraz."
Challenges and Opportunities Against Alcaraz
Rafter acknowledges that de Minaur will be treading a fine line when advancing against Spain's six-time grand slam champion. "When you do it against Alcaraz, bloody hell, every time you hit a great shot, the guy seems to be there. What a nightmare," said the dual US Open winner. However, he rejects the notion that de Minaur's flatter ball might help, emphasising the need for variation.
"Hasn't worked in the past," Rafter noted regarding de Minaur's ball flight. "It seems every now and then you want to see some variation in Alex's game and he doesn't have that technique to hit a heavy top-spinning ball deep into a corner. So what does his change up look like? Is it a little angle, roll angle, to get him moving forward a little bit more."
Rafter highlights de Minaur's strengths, including a brilliant slice that could be used to bring Alcaraz forward. "Alex definitely has a beautiful little slice with which he can go in down the line, or bring Alcaraz forward. Gee, if he's there early, he's just going to hurt him so much. It just depends on Alcaraz."
Strategic Flexibility and Aggression
Above all, Rafter hopes de Minaur employs an aggressive game plan but stresses the importance of having backup strategies. "But what does plan B, plan C look like? Are there opportunities to mix it up and change it up?" Rafter questioned. "You don't want to go in with plan A and all of a sudden you lose and then you're getting your arse kicked and then plan B gets your arse kicked really quickly too. That's when the frustration sets in. So I'm sure he's going to have a few little things he's going to try."
Despite concerns over de Minaur's winless record against Alcaraz, Rafter remains optimistic. When asked if the home hope could secure a victory, the former Australian of the Year responded, "He's a great player. Yeah, he can. Can Alcaraz have a bit of an off day? Yes he can. Then everything that Alex does turns to gold. We need those type of things to happen."
